Zhang Weiwu, vice president of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), speaks at the parallel session on Green Finance Facilitates Sustainable Development of the fourth Hongqiao International Economic Forum in Shanghai, east China, Nov. 5, 2021. (Xinhua/Xu Liang)
BEIJING, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- China's green finance has expanded rapidly since the beginning of this year thanks to the policy support introduced earlier, reported Economic Information Daily on Friday.
In January 2022, the country issued 40 new green bonds worth 69.29 billion yuan (about 10.95 billion U.S. dollars), research report by China Chengxin Securities Rating Co., Ltd showed. Among them, a total of 11 carbon neutral bonds worth 14.32 billion yuan were issued during the period.
The issuance of green bond made a large stride, with the total volume and value jumping 4 times and over 7 times from a year ago, respectively. The share of green bond in China's bond market climbed to 3.65 percent in January, compared to 2.05 percent of that of last year.
The measure of supporting tool for carbon reduction rolled out in last November by the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank, has been implemented as many commercial banks announced to have received the first batch of funds.
For example, the Agricultural Bank of China said it received this fund from PBOC for the 18.95 billion yuan in loans it provided to clean energy, energy conservation and environmental protection projects. These loans have supported 263 projects and 197 companies, reducing carbon emissions of 3.83 million tonnes.
Apart from the above efforts, social capital can also be seen as a great driving force for the development of the country's green finance.
According to a report by Alibaba, an internet giant, the sustainability bond it issued, worth 987 million U.S. dollars, has been used to 12 ESG projects in the fields of energy efficiency and green construction.
Besides, IDG Capital and Towngas has jointly launched China's first zero-carbon technology investment fund, planning to to raise up to 10 billion yuan to invest in the field of zero-carbon technology innovation.
"The rapid expansion of China's green finance market can be attributed to a series of policy support, including the launch of the country's national carbon trading scheme, subsidies and tax cut for green, low-carbon projects, and incentives for financial institutions to support green projects," said Ren Tao, researcher with China's National Institution for Finance and Development.
From national regulators to local governments, policies and measures have been put forwards to form better policy system and enabling market environment for green finance.
It is estimated that China's investment demands in the field of green, low-carbon development will reach 487 trillion yuan in the period of 2021-2050, according to Green Finance Committee of China Society for Finance and Banking.
(Edited by Li Shimeng with Xinhua Silk Road, lishimeng@xinhua.org)
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